Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic 'very much' wants to join Manchester United insists Jose Mourinho

The Serbian is expected to complete his £40m switch to Old Trafford imminently

Jose Mourinho trusts Matic having worked with him before at Chelsea (Getty)

Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic “very much” wants to move to Manchester United, according to Jose Mourinho.

Matic is expected to complete a £40m move to Old Trafford imminently after a picture of him dressed in United training gear with the number 31 on – vacated by Bastian Schweinsteiger last season – was circulated on Twitter on Sunday.

It would be the second time Mourinho has signed the Serbian and he will become the club’s third signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Victor Lindelof and Romelu Lukaku.

United played their penultimate preseason friendly against Valerenga in Oslo on Sunday night, with Marouane Fellaini, Lukaku and Scott McTominay scoring in a 3-0 win, and afterwards Mourinho admitted his former charge was eager to leave Stamford Bridge.

“I'm waiting for news,” he said following the win in Norway.

“I know that he wants that very, very much and when a player wants very, very much the chance is bigger, the chance is bigger, so I think we have a chance but in football until it's official, I saw so many things happen that I refuse to say more than I am telling you now.”

Mourinho had seen bringing in a defensive midfielder as his main priority after bolstering both his defence and attack and he wanted someone he knew he could trust to understand what was asked of him from the get-go.

United had felt that Chelsea would refuse to do a deal due to both the hijacking of their bid for Lukaku from Everton and the belief they would be strengthening a rival, but the champions’ recent progress in the market meant the move was finally given the green light.

Juventus and Internazionale wanted Matic too but the Serbian’s relationship with Mourinho meant that Old Trafford was his first choice.

United had also been linked with Monaco’s Fabinho for the position, although Mourinho sees him more as a full-back, while their interest in Eric Dier hit a brick wall after finding Tottenham Hotspur “impossible” to deal with.